Minneapolis
When Dale Shuter,
meetings and exposition manager for the Electrical Apparatus
Service Association, confirmed Minneapolis as the site for this
year’s annual convention, her attendees were bewildered by the
choice. Why Minneapolis? Compared to Las Vegas, where the group met
in 2006, this seemed to be a downgrade. By the time the June
meeting ended, however, most had changed their minds.
“People tend to think that because it’s
not New York, Chicago or Vegas, it’s not worth it,” Shuter says.
“But our post-convention survey revealed that Minneapolis received
higher marks for overall location than Vegas did.”
Though second-tier cities might not
have the largest hotels or most glittering ballrooms, a number of
them are committing major dollars to revamp their downtowns, expand
their convention facilities and build unique cultural venues. The
following, all classic American cities that have had their ups and
downs, are working hard to prove they are back in the game and well
worth a second look.
St. Louis
Thanks in large part to some creative
urban renewal, St. Louis is poised to attract lots of new meetings
business. Indeed, hotel room bookings are up by 20 percent this
year over the average for the past five years; the revamped
America’s Center convention complex now offers an expansive 502,000
square feet of exhibit space; some 7,000 hotel rooms are now
available within a mile radius of the center, and the city is
beginning to see the fruits of a massive $3.5 billion investment in
its downtown.
A fitting symbol of St. Louis’
revitalization is the transformation taking place in the Washington
Avenue loft district, long removed from its 1920s heyday as the
center of a bustling garment industry. “Ten years ago, the area was
dotted with empty and abandoned warehouses,” says Donna Andrews, a
spokesperson for the St. Louis Convention & Visitors
Commission. “Today, we’re preserving the look and feel of these
original, historical structures.”
The result is a burgeoning new
neighborhood of trendy lofts, restaurants and art galleries,
anchored by the convention center complex. Last December, the
effort was rewarded by a prestigious award for urban development
from the U.K.-based nonprofit World Leadership Forum; St. Louis
beat out more than 400 applicants from around the globe.
Planners are beginning to take notice
of the altering cityscape. Jeff Johnston, meeting services director
for the Memphis, Tenn.-based American Contract Bridge League, had
not been to St. Louis since 1997, but he recently returned with a
group of 7,000. “There were a variety of hotels for different
tastes and budgets,” he says. “Our group pays their own way, so
rates are very important to them. And downtown life in general is
much improved. It used to be more sleepy, but now it seems as
though every building has some kind of new development going
on.”
Coming soon is the $495 million Lumiere
Place, built by Pinnacle Entertainment in the Laclede’s Landing
district, near the famed Gateway Arch. Spanning nine blocks along
the Mississippi River, the project will feature a massive casino,
opening by year’s end, connected via pedestrian walkway to St.
Louis’ first Four Seasons hotel, set to debut in 2008 with 200
guest rooms, a 12,000-square-foot spa and 18,000 square feet of
meeting space.